Citizens, corporators working together is a win for all

Safety comes first and citizens must be ensured of that with good lighting

Diwali may be just behind us, but some locals along with their elected representatives have ensured that dimness is dispelled and replaced by brightness and safety. This paper carried an extensive report about south Mumbai residents calling out the dim lighting on an Old Cuffe Parade road. The result was that corporators of the ward pushed for better lighting on that street.

Now, there are sanctions for at least 41 light poles on the road. These poles have a two-pronged arm, and the light falls on the pavement and the street. The unique feature is that light falls on to the footpath, too, which illuminates the path for pedestrians.

This is surely a project that after completion may warrant replication in other areas of the city, not just in a single ward. It is true that streets may be well lit, but many a time, pavements are relatively dim. This is a serious problem for walkers given the state of our footpaths. The obvious of course is that people may be attacked for valuables when lighting is dim. Women will rightly fear molestation and harassment. We have several reports where subways are dark at times, even patches on skywalks are very poorly lit and women fear harassment, which has occurred in certain instances.

Then, we have the poor state of our pavements, which may be dirty or simply broken in parts, twisting and in extreme cases breaking a leg is a possibility. Lighting is important simply so that it means safety on so many levels. Bright pavements mean less encroachment too. Any Mumbaikar will tell you pavements are in danger of being ‘taken over' especially under the garb of darkness. Another lesson is the locals and corporator working in tandem, a win-win combine for Mumbai.